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Six pirates arrested in the Somali basin, between Seychelles and Somalia (V6)

(B2) Six people, suspected of piracy, who were on board a whaler, serving as a mother ship, and a skiff, were arrested after the attack on two ships on November 17 and 18 in the south Somali basin, was able to learn B2 according to a press release from the European anti-piracy operation deployed in the Indian Ocean (EUNAVFOR Atalanta).

Arrest of the six suspected pirates who were on board a small whaler, by the boarding team of the Virginio Fasan (credit: EUNAVFOR Atalanta)

Between Somalia and Seychelles

The incident took place between the Seychelles and Somalia according to our information, about 320 nautical miles southeast of the Somali coast (at the height of the city of Mogadishu). Which is new to say the least; in recent months pirate attacks have been concentrated in the Gulf of Aden or along the Somali coast.

RPG Shooting

The pirates began by attacking on November 17, the MV Ever Dynamic, a 52.000 ton container ship flying the Panamanian flag and operated by Evergreen, which sailed from Mombasa to Colombo (Sri Lanka). The captain then accelerated, up to 15 knots then 20 knots, to confuse the pirates who were looking for a foothold to climb on the ship, while carrying out maneuvers, to hinder them. The pirates targeted the ship with RPG fire. Without success.

The Galerna III targeted

The pirates then gave up and headed for the fishing boat gale III, a tuna from the Albacora de Bermeo company flying the Seychelles flag (1) which was sailing off the coast of the Seychelles. The presence of a safety team and the sheltering of the crew made it possible to avoid human losses on the side of the sailors.

Off the island of Mahé

It was 8:55 a.m. local time on Saturday (November 18), the gale III was in the northwest of the island of Mahé, in international waters, when one of the three security guards sounded the alarm, Captain Ager Zabala tells the daily The Courier. A suspicious boat was approaching at full speed and there was no time to waste. According to the usual protocol, the order was given to 'zigzag', a classic evasive maneuver. " The sailors left to take refuge in the security room as security guards prepared to repel the assault. " They sent several warning flashes when the boat was about half a mile away. When they saw that we were armed, they decided to give up and returned to the mother ship which was nearby. “, explains Ager Zabala.

Apprehended by the Italians

A Spanish maritime patrol aircraft first intervened to locate the pirates before Italian sailors from ITS Virginio Fasan (F-591) took over. " The Fasan vessel was patrolling about 60 nautical miles off the southern coast of Somalia when a pirate attack was reported on the container ship says a Navy report. The vessel then proceeded to the scene of the incident. At the same time, a second attack on the fishing vessel was reported. A suspect ship of the pirates spotted by the maritime patrol aircraft, the Italian ship's SH-90 onboard helicopter took over, making it possible to precisely locate " two small boats in a position consistent and correlated with those of the attacks ". The Brigade's Edge Marines Team San Marco then intervened to arrest the suspects. The crews of the ships attacked are safe and sound, EUNAVFOR Atalanta said.

Ongoing legal process

« The legal process has begun — indicated the European operation – so that suspected pirates are transferred to a competent authority to be prosecuted ". According to our information, it is the Seychelles which could, first of all, be pressed to accept these suspects, under the terms of the existing agreement with the European Union. A hypothesis all the more serious that one of the attacks of the pirates was directed against a ship flying its flag.

(Updated) Judgment in Seychelles

A confirmed indication. The suspects were handed over to Seychelles authorities on Thursday (23 November) at the end of November. They were indicted for committing an act of piracy” and attempted piracy. They face a sentence of up to 30 years.

A reminder to be careful

The HQ of the European operation immediately launched an appeal for caution to all the sailors present in the sector, so that they register during their passage through the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean at the MSCHOA (the maritime surveillance center for the Horn of Africa), and continue to apply the best practices, listed in the BMP4.

First arrest in months

This is the first time in more than three years that pirates have been arrested in this way by a European team. The last arrest in the area was made by the Chinese navy in the spring (read: Three pirates arrested by Chinese navy transferred to Puntland).

A slight recovery in piracy

After three "hollow" years (2014, 2015, 2016), the year 2017 represents a certain quivering of piracy. According to Atalanta HQ in Northwood (disregarding the latest attack), the pirates have carried out six attacks this year of which two were successful (pirated boats) and four failed; three attacks were thwarted by warships and two other suspicious events are reported.

NB: our assessment drawn from our "pirates" database (supplied by maritime sources) is slightly higher: we have noted around twenty attacks (or attempted attacks), and four hijacked ships.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

(1) TheIntertuna III is with the Galerna III one of the Spanish tuna vessels flying the Seychelles flag. This allows them to escape the closing date for yellowfin tuna (albacore) fishing established by the Spanish government.


Last serious incident off Yemen

The last incident recorded in the area was off Yemen on October 24, in the early hours of the morning, at thabout 37 nautical miles southeast of Socotra Island. Armed pirates aboard two skiffs approached, fired a dhow fishing. A sailor was killed and three others injured. The intervention of a military ship put an end to the attack, the soldiers responding to the pirates' fire. They then came to the aid of the fishermen, providing care to the injured, and proceeding to check the damage suffered by the vessel. He was able to continue his journey.


Read also: An attempted attack by pirates fails in the Gulf of Aden

Updated 20.11 9am with the piracy report, 16pm with the names of the ships, 20pm with the story of the captain of the fishing vessel attacked - 21.11 3am with the report of the Italian Navy - 30.11 with the handover to the Seychelles. The detail on the attack of Ever Dynamic

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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